Victory a must tonight

Our European visitors tonight, Legia Warsaw, were very much an unknown quantity when the second round draw of the Cup-Winners' Cup was made. So, over the past few days, we have all been doing our homework on our Polish guests.

Jocky Scott didn't have much luck when he first tried to visit Poland to have a look at them, because their Embassy in London couldn't get a necessary visa through quickly enough for us. Then games were postponed to allow the Poles to prepare for last week's international against England at Wembley. Jocky did, however, manage to assess Warsaw on Sunday when he took in their game agaist Lodz, so we now know all about their current form.

In fact, it was a hectic spell for Jocky, as he was also in Bucharest last Wednesday taking in Romania's game against Bulgaria for Andy Roxburgh. Right now, though, it's Warsaw who concern us. To get a general feel of the Polish style we also had Drew Jarvie in London lastweek.

Drew was at White Hart Lane on Tuesday for the under 21 clash and the following night he was among the Wembley crowd for the senior international. Legia Warsaw had one player, Kosecki, in the line up which lost to England. And they also had another two on the bench. We don't need reminding that they will be very useful.

Obviously, we would like to build up a nice lead so we have a cushion for the return leg in Poland, but we certainly don't want any kamikaze stuff at the back to let them in with a vital away goal. I'll be very disappointed if our defence is exposed.

We will have to make one change in this department, as Andy Dibble, the -keeper we have on loan from Manchester City, is not eligible for this European tie. That means Michael Watt gets his first European match and we have no fears in fielding Michael in this one. Michael has been on the bench for a European affair, so he knows all about the atmosphere. We can't overlook the fact that he is the current Scotland under 21 keeper. He has played two games for the young side recently and performed extremely well against Romania and

Alex Smith

Switzerland. I know he will be able to come straight in and handle this situation.

Beating Hearts by 3-0 on Saturday was a lovely boost for us. The performance came at exactly the right time. Not only was the result excellent, but the way we played to achieve it was very satisfying. Our general passing game was spot on. I'm always pleased when we get those passes going.

We all know the standards that are expected at Pittodrie and it's a question of maintaining them. But when the lads start stringing those passes together you can see how much they enjoy their football. I'm sure the fans take just as much enjoyment from watching them. Tonight we will be looking for some swift passing movements and some goals. Demands at this level are always high, but we know what's at stake every time we tackle a European tie.

Hopefully, tonight, we can take another large step in the right direction to take some of the pressure off our visit to Warsaw.

Alex Smith.

Aberdeen Football Club Founded 1903

PITTODRIE STADIUM • ABERDEEN AB2 1QH • TELEPHONE (0224) 632328 Chairman: Richard M. Donald • Vice-Chairman: Ian R. Donald • Director: Denis J. Miller

Secretary: Ian J. Taggart • Commercial Executive: David Johnston Co-Managers: Alex Smith and Jocky Scott • Assistant Manager: Drew Jarvie

Trainer: Teddy Scott • Physiotherapist: David Wylie • Club Doctor: Dr. C.L. Forbes

HONOURS European Cup-Winners' Cup: 1983 • Super Cup: 1983 • Scottish League Championship: 1954-55, 1979-80, 1983-84, and 1984-85 • Scottish Cup: 1947, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1990 • Scottish League Cup: 1955-56,

1976-77, 1985-86 and 1989-90 • Drybrough Cup: 1971 and 1980

Single minded for club success

MOST players would willingly give an eye tooth to pull on an international jersey. But Jim Bett has turned his back on collecting Scotland caps — so he can concentrate solely on grabbing more honours with the Dons.

The silky midfielder, who played 27 times for his country, made the big decision after returning from last summer's World Cup finals in Italy. Now he is hoping Aberdeen feel the benefit.

"I haven't had time to think about the Scotland scene as I've been busy playing two games a week for Aberdeen. That's enough to keep me going.

"I enjoyed myself with Scotland, even though I often found myself playing wide on the left of midfield. I'm happier playing in the centre of midfield, where I operate for the club.

"But I'm 30 now and I didn't think I would be around the Scotland set-up when the next World Cup finals or European Championships come around. So I had a word with Andy Roxburgh and he took my decision like the perfect gentleman he is.

"In fact, he wished me all the best with Aberdeen. Naturally, I wished him good luck with Scotland."

So Bett settled down in front of the television last week to watch Scotland's European Championship efforts against Switzerland at Hampden.

Speculation surrounded his future during the close season before he eventually agreed to stay at Pittodrie. Premier rivals Rangers and Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest were chasing his signature.

"You always have to be a bit flattered when other big clubs show an interest in you. But I have said often enough that I'm happy with Aberdeen and I didn't particularly want to move anywhere else.

"Finances have to be taken into consideration, as they do in any walk of life. But you also have to consider your wife and children.

Jim Bett

"During my career as a player we have moved home about ten different times and we just didn't want to uproot again. I like this club and we all enjoy living in the city.

"Aberdeen have been great to me since I arrived from Lokeren just over five years ago. Now everything has been worked out and I signed on again for another year. This suited the club and it suited me."

Bett will again be vital to the Dons for tonight's assault on Europe and the second round tie against Legia Warsaw. But Polish football is not one of his better subjects.

"I did visit Poland for a couple of friendlies when I was with Lokeren. International Lubanski was with us at the time and he was a bit of an attraction. But when we did get to Poland we found ourselves playing against Russian side Dynamo Kiev.

" Jocky Scott has the low-down on Legia and we will be well versed by the time the tie kicks off. But you only need to look at the Poles who are playing regularly in the Premier Division to know their quality. Jacki Dziekanowski and Dariusz Wdowczyk are class acts, and I also saw Poland perform against England last week.

"The past couple of seasons have been disappointing for us in Europe and we have paid the price for not scoring too many goals at Pittodrie. Hopefully we can change that around tonight and go a long way towards setting ourselves up for the quarter-finals. But don't expect it to be easy."

Tonights Match Sponsor

Tonight we welcome A O C International Ltd. as the sponsors of this European Cup Winners' Cup match against Legia Warsaw.

A O C International was established in Aberdeen in 1976 and is a subsidiary of Fairhaven International. A O C International currently employs in excess of 2000 technical, super­visory and trades personnel and provides the following services:

— Offshore hook-up and commissioning — Offshore construction and modifications — Offshore maintenance and services — Onshore construction and erection Blandford Technical Services, an associate company of A O C International provides project control services, technical staff, computer systems and solutions.

We hope that A O C International and their guests have an enjoyable night at Pittodrie with Aberdeen Football Club.

New Range in Club Shop The range of goods on sale at the shop is rapidly expanding and we are now very active in our mail order system.

If you would like to obtain an up to date list of all goods available then please write to: Aberdeen Club Shop, Crombie Sports, 2 College Street, Aberdeen.

The club shop has just taken stock of new stylish quarter-square rugby shirts in red and white with a navy collar. It comes in children's sizes, starting at size 26/28 and goes right up to size 46 for people who like to wear them really baggy.

Also new in the shop is this season's Aberdeen training top produced by Umbro starting at size 30/32 and ranging to size 44.

New items coming in for Christmas will be Calendars, Jigsaws, Christmas Cards, Glenmuir sweaters, polo necks and piquet shirts all with the Aberdeen crest.

Since the main purpose of the shop is selling as large a range of Aberdeen F.C. goods as possible to you the supporter, your feedback would help us to stock the items which are popular. Send your comments to the Commercial Department at Pittodrie and we will try to accommodate.

£1000 Winner A presentation was made this week to Inverurie woman Mrs Bessie Milne, our latest £1000 Donscash Lottery winner.

A delighted Mrs Milne is shown below pondering how best to spend the cheque which was presented to her by Fred Booth. Also pictured is Donscash agent L.W. Beaton, Kemnay, who sold the winning ticket. He, however, has no problem knowing what to do with his prize.

Man of the Match

George Thain of Press Offshore Ltd presents Stewart McKimmie with his man of the match award after the

Hearts match last Saturday.

Situation vacant Aberdeen Football Club require a person to handle various duties within the administrative and commercial departments at Pittodrie Stadium. Tasks would include routine cash reconciliations, lottery administration, assisting with visits and general liaison with the public in the ticket office.

This position would ideally suit a retired person. Hours would be from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

If you are interested, please send relevant details to: D. Johnston, Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen AB21QH

DM YOU Know ?

IT'S A FACT THAT . . .

• Akranes of Iceland are the only side to avoid defeat at Pittodrie and still go out of Europe to the Dons (They drew 1-1 in Season 1983-84 but lost 2-3 on aggregate).

• The Dons largest win in Europe was on their debut in 1967 when they beat Reykjavik 10-0 at Pittodrie.

• Aberdeen were the first side to go out of Europe in a penalty shoot-out. They lost 4-5 on penalties to Honved in 1970 after the sides were level 4-4 on aggregate.

• The Dons are to date, the only Scottish club to win the European Super Cup (They defeated Hamburg 2-0 on aggregate in 1983).

• Willie Miller holds the record for the most appearances in Europe by a 'Don' so far he has played 61 times, Alex McLeish is next he's on 51 plus one substitute appearance.

• The first Polish side to play at Pittodrie were Gornik Zabrze on November 25th 1970 in a challenge match, the Dons won 5-0 that n igh t

• The only Polish side to have playd Aberdeen in a European competition is Lech Poznan whom the Dons beat 2-0 home and 1-0 away in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1982.

• When Paul Mason scored the Dons first goal against New Salamis in Cyprus, on 19th September, it was the Dons first away goal in Europe in five years.

• Mark McGhee is Aberdeen's leading scorer in Europe with 14 goals.

• The Dons have never progressed in Europe on the away goals rule, they have however been eliminated three times by this method after drawing on aggregate with Gothenburg (1985-86), Feyenoord (1987-88) and Rapid Vienna (1989-90).

• The Dons have never won a penalty shoot-out in Europe, losing twice in this manner against Honved (1970-71) and Dynamo Berlin (1984-85).

• When Aberdeen won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983, bad weather cut the crowd against Real Madrid in Gothenburg to 17,800 of which an estimated 14,000 were Dons supporters.

• Only two Dons players have scored hat-tricks in • Europe, Frank Munro (v. Reykjavik) and Mark

McGhee (v. Ujpest Dozsa).

• During a six year spell ( 1972-78) Aberdeen played six different sides in Europe and present assistant manager Drew Jarvie scored against them all. (Munchengladbach, Finn Harps, Tottenham Hot­spur, RWD Molenbeek, Marek Dimitrov and Fortuna Dusseldorf).

• The last time 'The Dons' failed to qualify for Europe was in season 1976-77.

Souvenir Brochure The Willie Miller 20 years Souvenir Brochure is now out on sale in the club shop and at most newsagents throughout the North of Scotland. The game will be played on Tuesday, 4th December, and tickets will be available shortly when Aberdeen FC will play a World Cup XI managed by Alex Ferguson to reward this outstanding achievement of 20 years with one club.

WILLIE MILLER 20 YEARS

'SOUVENIR BROCHURE

The major contribution Willie has made to the success of the "Team of the Decade" tag enjoyed by Aberdeen Football Club during the eighties is legend and the night of the 4th December will be a memorable occasion. However, the service and enjoyment that Willie Miller has given Aberdeen fans will leave every supporter I'm sure with their own lasting memory of this great player.

injury round-up Good news for all Aberdeen fans is that Theo is now back in Aberdeen beginning his recovery to full fitness. The operation he underwent, required plates to be inserted in his cheekbone to allow the bones to knit properly. Theo restarts light training next week and expects to return to first team action in about two months. He appreciates all the get well cards he has received, over 125 in total, and passes on a personal thanks to the fans. Willem van der Ark is slowly building up his training schedule and now beginning some light training with the ball. The danger is to try and do too much too quickly and his comeback to fitness will be a slow controlled process.

Graham Watson who broke his leg during the summer has been maintaining his fitness level by daily exercising in the RGIT pool with fitness consultant Pamela Smith. He had an x-ray today and we are all hoping that the specialist will give him the all clear to elevate from the swimming pool to the training ground.

Travel with the Dons

Seats are available on the club's charter flight to Poland when Aberdeen play Legia Warsaw in the return leg of this European Cup Winners' Cup second round tie on Wednesday, 7th November, 1990. Anyone interested should contact: Aberdeen Football Club secretary Ian Taggart on (0224) 632328.

Celtic visit The B & Q Premier Division fixture between Aberdeen and Celtic, due to be played at Pittodrie, on Saturday, 3rd November, is an all ticket game. Ticket sales will commence tomorrow, Thursday, 25th October, and two (1990/91) vouchers are required per ticket. The ticket office hours are: 9 a.m-4.30 p.m. Normal league prices apply. Please note: NO BEACH END (Visitors' Section) tickets are available in Aberdeen. The tickets on sale at Pittodrie are for the "Home Support" areas only.

Association News A general meeting followed by the AG.M. was held on Sunday 14th October in the Occidental Sports Centre. Bridge of Don. The meetings were attended by representatives from as far afield as Perth, Kircaldy and Dufftown. Important business arising included:

1. Plans to hold the annual six-a-side tournament at indoor venues within the city.

2. The annual quiz was now ready to commence. Host clubs are asked to contact Isobel Fyfe as soon as possible.

3. The annual player of the year award was won by Jim Bett and the young player of the year was won by Michael Watt. An awards afternoon would hopefully take place in early December. 4. Dinner dance dates should be forwarded to Isobel as soon as possible.

1990/91 office bearers elected were as follows: Chairman - Alex Hosie, Vice-chairman - Brain Rae, Secretary - Isobel Fyfe.

It was also proposed that a number of members should be elected onto a working committee. This will be done within the next two months.

The next general meeting will be held at Pittodrie Stadium in early December and clubs will be informed as soon as arrangements are finalised.

Can You Help? Mark Whytock would like to acquire match tickets and pennants from home European matches played between 1980-86. He already has tickets for the SV Hamburg, Waterschei and Porto matches along with the Waterschei pennant. The pennant he would like most is the Real Madrid one. Mark is willing to pay for the goods and can be contacted at the following address: 25 Haddon Road, Perth, Scotland PH2 7JA Telephone (0738) 22971.

Tonight's team mascot David Simpson, a member of the Dons Youngstars Club, will lead the Aberdeen players onto the Pittodrie pitch tonight. A pupil at Auchterellon School, young David stays at 32 Craigpark Circle, Ellon and recently celebrated his seventh birthday. A budding goalkeeper in Grampian can only have one hero - Theo Snelders. David Simpson

Garioch News The Inverurie branch annual Christmas Eve disco will be held in the Kintore Arms Hotel, Inverurie. Tickets (,£2.50) can be purchased from any committee member.

All members intending to travel on the supporters ' coach to Tannadice for the B&Q Premier Division derby match agaist Dundee United on Saturday, 24th November are asked to give their names to Davie Aitken as soon as possible.

Members are reminded to collect their tickets on Thursday, 1st November in the Kintore Arms Hotel between 7-9 p.m. for the game against Celtic at Pittodrie. Vouchers should be handed in.

All News welcome All branches can announce any forthcoming events in "The Dons". Send details to Pittodrie at least ten days prior to the match.

A day to remember

Cameron Mowat is pictured with Robert Connor before Saturday's match agains Hearts

impressive home European record

This is Aberdeen's 39 th European match at Pittodrie and our record makes impressive reading: 28 wins, 6 draws and only 4 defeats. F X . Porto, Borussia Munchengladbach, R.W.D. Molenbeek and Liverpool have inflicted the losses, but it's in the European Cup Winners' Cup competition that the most impressive statistics lie - for in 16 home ties the Dons have recorded wins on 14 occasions, suffered only one defeat, scored 51 goals and conceded only eight. Below is the clubs complete record in Europe and a look back at four of these matches.

P W D L F A European Cup Winners' Cup 3 3 2 0 4 9 69 31 European Cup 12 5 4 3 14 12 F a i r s / U . E . F A Cup 3 2 12 9 11 42 42

Super Cup

77 3 7 17 2 3 125 85

Super Cup 2 1 1 0 2 0

U.E.FA. CUP 2nd Round 2nd Leg - WEDNESDAY 17th NOVEMBER 1971

ABERDEEN 1 JUVENTUS 1 Scorers: Aberdeen — Harper. Juventus — Anastasi. Attendance: 29,500. Referee: T. Boosten (Holland)

Aberdeen: Clark, G. Murray, Hermiston, S. Murray, Young, M.Buchan. Forres t Robb, Harper, Wiiioughby, Graham. Subs: Taylor (5) G. Buchan (3) Juventus: Carmignani, Spinosi, Marchetti, Furino, Morini, Salvadore. Haller, Causio, Anastasi, Capello, Bettega.

A t remendous night 's enter tainment , as an all ticket capacity crowd marvelled at the sheer class of the Italians and the determination of the home side. Trailing 0-2 from the first leg and with a sprinkling of snow on the pitch the Dons set at their more illustrious opponents , but try as they did the deficit was too much to claw back. After several close calls the Italians slowly began to win more possesion and when Anastasi opened the scoring in the 50th minute the tie was won. His low fierce drive crept in at the post giving Clark no chance, and a l though Harper scored with a magnificent h e a d e r a d r a w o n t h e night was the best result Aberdeen could gain. As tanding ovation was the reward to both sides at the end of a very sport ing con te s t

U . E . F A CUP 2nd Round 1st Leg - WEDNESDAY 24th OCTOBER 1 9 7 3

ABERDEEN 1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 Scorers: Aberdeen — Hermiston (pen). Tot tenham — Coates. Attendance: 30,000. Referee: S. Patterson (Belfast).

Aberdeen: Clark, Hair, Hermiston, Thomson, Young, W. Miller, Graham, Robb. Jarvie, J.Smith. Taylor. Subs: R. Miller (4) Tot tenham: Daines, Evans, Kinnear, Pratt, England, Beal, Gilzean, Perryman, McGrath, Peters, Coates. Subs: Neighbour (11) Naylor (3)

Aberdeen entertained a highly experienced Tot tenham outfit who had already tasted European success in both the European Cup Winners ' Cup and the E.U.FA Cup and got off to the worst possible start after only 15 minutes. Willie Miller seemed to have saved the day with a superb last ditch tackle on McGrath but unfortunately the ball broke kindly to Coates who confidently finished from ten yards. The Dons then threw everything at the English side, who used their experience to the full, denying Aberdeen the space and time needed to create scoring chances. Jus t when all seemed los t as time was running out, Evans dived in needlessly on subst i tu te Berty Miller and Hermiston levelled from the spot. A draw was no less than the Dons deserved but they were under no illusions about the task awaiting them in the second leg.

U . E . F A CUP 1st Round 2nd Leg - WEDNESDAY 30th SEPTEMBER 1981

ABERDEEN 3 IPSWICH TOWN 1 Scorers: Aberdeen — Strachan, Weir 2. Ipswich — Wark (pen). Attendance: 24,000. Referee: M. Vautrot (France).

Aberdeen: Leighton, Kennedy, Rougvie. Watson, McLeish, Miller, Strachan. Cooper. McGhee, Hewitt, Weir. Subs: Bell (4), Simpson (8). Ipswich: Cooper, Mills, McCall, Thyssen, Osman, Butcher, Wark, Muhren, Mariner. Brazil, Gates. Sub: O'Callaghan (4).

Ipswich, who were the U.E.FA Cup holders, found Aberdeen too hot to handle and at the end of the 90 minutes were rather fortunate to escape with a fairly respectable scoreline. Bobby Robson, the English sides manager, issued the Dons a pre match challenge by stating that they could not play as well this time round as they did in the first leg, he was wrong! Peter Weir gave Mick Millsa torrid time, twisting and turning the English defender inside out and crowned off a superb display by grabbing two cracking goals, one with either foot. Gordon Strachan also shone overshadowing his three interantionai midfield opponents on a n ight that those fortunate enough to at tend will never forget

EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS' CUP Quarter Final 2nd Leg - WEDNESDAY 16th MARCH 1 9 8 3

ABERDEEN 3 BAYERN MUNICH 2 Scorers: Aberdeen — Simpson, McLeish, Hewitt. Bayern — Augenthaler, Pflugler. Attendance: 24,000. Referee: M. Vautrot (France).

Aberdeen: Leighton, Kennedy, Rougvie, Cooper, McLeish, Miller, Strachan, Simpson, McGhee, Black, Weir. Subs: McMaster (2), Hewitt (8). Bayern: Muller, Dremler, Horsmann, Grobe, Augenthaler, Pflugler, Breitner, Hoeness, Del Haye, Rummenigge. Sub Mathy (7)

Amazing scenes as Aberdeen grabbed an unbelievalbe win from the jaws of defeat. Twice s tunning goals from the Germans looked to have deprived the Dons of the victory they desperately s o u g h t but back Aberdeen bounced and two goals in the 76th and 77th minute from McLeish and Hewitt turned the match completely round. The last 13 minutes were played ou t in a frenzied atmosphere, and the final whistle saw unprecedented scenes of joy from players and fans alike. A few days later reality sunk in —Aberdeen were in the European Cup Winners ' Cup semi-finals and they had a team with a more than reasonable chance of achieving the unthinkable .

Season 1990/91 • Fixtures B&Q League Premier Division

P W D L F A Pts Dif

Dundee United 9 6 2 1 12 4 14 + 8

Rangers 9 4 4 1 14 5 12 + 9

Aberdeen 9 4 4 1 12 8 12 + 4

Celtic 9 3 4 2 10 9 10 + 1

St. Johnstone 9 3 3 3 14 13 9 + 1

Motherwell 9 3 2 4 8 5 8 + 3

Hibernian 9 3 2 4 4 9 8 - 5

Dunfermline Ath. 9 2 3 4 9 14 7 - 5

Heart of Midlothian 9 2 2 5 9 16 6 - 7

St Mirren 9 1 2 6 7 16 4 - 9

Appearances 1990/91 LEAGUE CUPS App GIs App GIs

J . Bett 9 3 5 2

S. Booth - ( 1 ) - 1 (1) -I. Cameron - - - d ) -R. Connor 8 2 5 -

A. Dibble 2 - - -L. Gardner - - - ( 1 ) -

H. Gillhaus 9 3 5 2

B. Grant 9 1 5 -B. Irvine 9 1 6 1

E. Jess 2 (6 ) - 4 (2 ) 2

P. Mason 9 1 6 4

S. McKimmie 8 - 6 -A. McLeish 8 - 5 -

W. Miller - - 1 -C. Robertson - ( 5 ) - 1 (1) 1

D. Robertson 8 1 6 -

T. Snelders 7 - 6 -P. van de Ven 9 - 4 (2 ) 2

Gregg Watson 2 (5 ) - - ( 4 ) -S. Wright - ( 1 ) - — —

Next Home Came Saturday, 3rd November

B&Q League • Premier Division ABERDEEN v. CELTIC

Date Opposition (Venue) Comp. F-A Att. Pos 1 2

Aug 22 Queens Park ( A ) S K O I 2 2-1 2,201 - Snelders McKimmie

Aug 25 Hibernian (H) P.Div. 2-0 16.374 3 Snelders McKimmie

Aug 29 Stranraer (H) SkoI 3 4-0 9.800 - Snelders McKimmie

Sept 1 Celtic ( A ) P.Div. 3-0 45.222 • Snelders McKimmie

Sept 5 Hearts (H) Sko! 4 3-0 14.853 - Snelders McKimmie

Sept 8 Dunfermline ( A ) P.Div 1-1 9565 : Snelders McKimmie

Sept 15 Dundee United (H) P.Div. 1-1 2 Snelders McKimmie

Sept 19 New Salamis (A ) E C W C 1-1 2-0 - Snelders McKimmie

Sept 22 St Mirren (H) P.Div. 2-1 • : - c ~ 2 SneWers G'g. Watson

Sept 26 Rangers (N) SkoI SF 0-1 -•: :: : 5 " ; Cr-s McKimmie

Sept 29 St Johnstone (A ) PJDiv. 0-5 : - • 5-5 y----- McKimmie

Oct 3 New Salamis (H) E C W C 1-2 3-0 SneWers McKimmie

Oct 6 Rangers (H) P.Div 0-0 i : : £-5 C t - McKimmie

Oct 13 Motherweli ( A ) PDiv 0-0 6602 O n i C McKimmie

Oct 20 Hearts (H) P D i v 3-0 14 636 : : : r McKimmie

Oct 24 Legla Warsaw (H) E C W C 2-1

Oct 27 Hibernian (A ) PD iv

Nov 3 Celtic (H) PD iv

Nov 7 Legia Warsaw ( A ) E C W C 2-2

Nov 10 St Mirren : : : .

Nov 17 St Johnstone (H) : : .

Nov 24 Dundee United ( A ) PDiv

Dec 1 Dunfermline (H) P . D I V

Dec 8 Hearts - : : .

Dec 15 Motherwell - ; :

Dec 22 Rangers ( A ) : :

Dec 29 St Mirren - : :

J a n 2 Dundee United - F : .

J a n 5 Dunfermline ( A ) P A

J a n 12 Hibernian (H) P D i v

J a n 19 Celtic ( A ) P D I V

J a n 26 S C . : •

Feb 2 Hearts (H) : :

Feb 9 Motherwell ( A ) PDiv

Feb 16 St Johnstone ( A ) P D I V

Feb 23 S C u p 4

Mar 2 Rangers (H) P D r .

Mar 6 E C . : : = •

Mar 9 Dunfermline (H) : :

Mar 16 S C . : :

Mar 20 E C W C QF2 J

.Mar 23 Dundee United - : :

Mar 30 Hibernian ; :

Apr 6 Celtic (H) = : .

Apr 10 E C W C SF1

Apr 13 Hearts ( A ) P.Div.

Apr 20 Motherwell (H) P D i v .

Apr 24 E C W C SF2

Apr 27 St Mirren ( A ) P D i v

May 4 St Johnstone (H) P D i v

May 11 Rangers ( A ) P.Div

May 15 E C W C Final

May 18 S.Cup Final

18 ABERDEEN CLUB CALL

esults • Attendances • Appearances • Goalscorers 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14

Krtson Grant Irvine Miller J e s s 1 Bett 1 Mason Connor Gillhaus van de V e n (7) Booth (8)

jertson Grant McLeish Irvine van de V e n Bett Mason Connor 1 Gillhaus 1 G'g.Watson (8) J e s s

Dertson Grant McLeish I rv ine 1 van de V e n 1 J e s s Mason 2 Connor Gillhaus G'g.Watson (2) Cameron (9)

Dertson Grant McLeish Irvine van de V e n Bett Mason 1 Connor 1 Gillhaus 1 G'g.Watson (2) J e s s

bertson Grant McLeish Irvine van de Ven 1 Bett 1 Mason 1 Connor Gillhaus G.Watson Jess (11)

Dertson 1 Grant McLeish Irvine van de V e n Bett Mason Connor Gillhaus G.Watson J e s s

bertson Grant McLeish Irvine van de V e n Bett 1 Mason Connor Gillhaus G'g.Watson (7) Booth (11)

bertson Grant McLeish Irvine van de V e n Bett Mason 1 Booth Gillhaus 1 G'g.Watson (10) Jess (9)

.bertson Grant McLeish I rv ine 1 van de V e n Bett 1 Mason J e s s Gillhaus Wright C.Robertson

:bertson Grant McLeish Irvine van de V e n Bett Mason Connor J e s s G'g.Watson C.Robertson(11)

jbertson Grant G'g.Watson Irvine van de V e n Bett Mason Connor Gillhaus C.Robertson (7} Jess (11)

: bertson C.Robertson 1 McLeish Irvine J e s s 1 Bett Mason Connor Gillhaus 1 van de V e n (5} Gardner (9)

de V e n Grant McLeish Irvine J e s s Bett Mason Connor Gillhaus G'g.Watson (7) C.Robertson (1)

ûbertson Grant McLeish Irvine van de V e n Bett Mason Connor Gillhaus C.Robertson Jess

obertson Grant 1 McLeish Irvine Van de ven Bett 1 Mason Connor Gillhaus 1 Jess (11 ) C.Robertson (8)

Lee Gardner's header goes wide during a raid against New Salamis. More Europe action overleaf.

Players name in bold type denote goalscorers. Figures in brackets after the substitute names indicate the player replaced. 'Opponent own goal.

- 0898 12 15 51 19

Aberdeen v. New Salamis — European Cup Winners Cup

Experience Counts

An experienced Hearts reserve side including Derek Ferguson. Scott Crabbe, Neil Berry, Wayne Foster and Walter Kidd defeated a young Aberdeen side 2-0 at Tynecastle last Thursday in the Premier Reserve League.

Once again the performance did not measure up to what is expected and too many players turned in below par performances. The only players to escape criticism were Stephen Wright and Michael Watt who both had a fine game in difficult circumstances.

There was a reasonable crowd which injected a bit of atmosphere into the proceedings but there was a lethargy in our play, a lack of fighting spirit when we fell behind and no urgency to put matters right when Hearts scored the second goal.

The Dons defence was caught square at the first goal and Wayne Foster ran through to score unchallenged in 16 minutes. Malcolm Thomson might have equalised when the ball was dropped at his feet by the Hearts' keeper after a corner on the right, but he was slow to react, and couldn't get enough power on his shot and the ball was cleared off the line.

So instead of possibly being on level terms at half time we trailed by a goal. Lee Gardner created a clear opening for Andy Gibson after the interval. But instead of taking the ball in closer, he shot too early and straight at the keeper. The defence was badly at fault again for the second goal which came in 56 minutes. Wayne Foster took advantage of poor positioning and crossed for Neil Berry to drive in without any challenge being made. Two or three other Hearts' players were also unmarked and we'll never get it right unless players accept responsibility and do what they are supposed to do. Changes are inevitable and the time has perhaps come to promote some of the youngsters from the East Reserve side which has been performing well. Aberdeen: Watt, Wright, Humphries, Ferguson (McAnespie), Thomson, Lithgow, Gibson (Roddie), I. Robertson, Gardner, Harvie, Cameron.

BP Youth Cup Scotland's young soccer strikers were on target in the first round of the BP Scottish Youth Cup.

Motherwell's Alex Burns led the way with four goals against Dalbeattie Star, while William Reid (Clydebank), Gary Bollan (Dundee United) and our own Colin McRonald all notched hat-tricks in their games. Clydebank were the highest scorers of the round with 10 agaisnt luckless Stranraer and the 11 matches averaged five goals each.

After our own 6-0 defeat of Ross County we now travel to play Arbroath at Gayfield before 31st October. The winner will play Dundee at Dens Park and this tie is to be played before 30th November.

Andy Roddie

Reserve Profile Name: Andy Roddie

Age: 18

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 145 lbs.

School Attended: Govan High

Juvenile Club: Glasgow Utd.

Date of Joining Aberdeen: 1987

Biggest Influence: Family

Favourite Player: Paul Mason

Ambitions:To become an Aberdeen first team regular and play for Scotland.

Club Supported as a boy: Rangers

Musical Taste: Dance Music, Deacon Blue.

Major Strengths: Pace and ability to cross balls.

Weaknesses: Tackling, right foot.

What would you be if not a footballer?: Hotel trade.

Famous Danish brothers aim for the top in Europe

EIGHT years ago Alex Ferguson made a bold initiative to take soccer's latest wonderboy to Aberdeen.

It did not succeed. In Alex's own words: "I didn't even get a chance to speak to Michael Laudrup." Every top club on the continent was queued up, pleading with the teenage Danish sensation to name his terms.

In the end Juventus, then the pre-eminent club in the

world, won the signing race and Laudrup took his

exceptional talent to Italy to launch a dynasty.

Michael has now been joined on the international

stage by his younger brother, Brian, who many

experts believe is an even greater talent.

The careers of soccer's most famous siblings in the

current era have been carefully plotted by their

father, Finn, himself a former professional player.

He played for a period with Sportklub in Austria

before returning to Brondby in his native Denmark.

It was there, after finishing his playing career, that he

joined Brondby's board of directors.

His influence helped Brondby rise from the third to

first division. He also phased his two sons into the

club's system.

Their impact was immediate and Europe's elite beat a path to the Laudrup door. The teenager Michael eventually opted for Juventus in a deal which secured him financially for life. The Italian giants then loaned him out to Lazio of Rome to acquire experience.

He was somewhat unlucky that when he returned to Turin, the power of the club had begun to diminish.

Picture Courtesy of Colorsport.

Michael Laudrup displays his skill for Denmark in an international match against Scotland.

Picture Courtesy of Colorsport. _ - r - r

Michael Laudrup - Barcelonas golden boy.

Manager Trappatoni, who had won everything possible in club football, opted for a fresh challenge with Inter Milan.

The decline of Juventus accelerated, changes followed and Michael was sold to Barcelona. Under Johan Cruyff s leadership, his talents have flourished once again and Barcelona have made their best start to a season for years.

Brian, now 21, replaced his brother in the Brondby team, playing as a right sided striker. He won Denmark's player of the year award last season. Like his brother, Brian had the choice of Europe but surprisingly opted for Bayer Uerdingen, the Bundesliga club backed by the pharmaceutical conglomerate. At the time of the ¿850,000 transfer, his father, explaining the deal, said he would be able to develop properly without the pressures which surround a top side.

Now the pressure is firmly on Brian. He became West Germany's most expensive international transfer at the start of this season when he moved to Bayern Munich in a £2 million deal. And his arrival has relegated Scottish international Alan Mclnally to mainly a substitute's role and a place on the for sale list.

Meanwhile, the brothers Laudrup have assumed key roles with Denmark who are favourites to qualify for the European Championships at the expense of Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Austria and the Faroes.

Astute leadership has brought success for Dick Donald

Dick Donald has been the chairman for the past twenty years and in that time Aberdeen has been totally transformed on and off the park.

Under his astute leadership, the team has enjoyed the greatest success in the club's history. Pittodrie has also been developed into the first all-seated and all-covered stadium in the country, providing the platform for the Dons players to compete with the best.

Dick Donald listens intently to Pele.

A non-smoker and teetotaller, he is the doyen of his

contemporaries. He is also unique — being the only

one who has graduated from ballboy to player and

then to the boardroom.

Manager Alex Smith knows why Dick has been so

influential in his stewardship. "What distinguishes

the man is his understanding of how to use power.

He never abuses it."

Former manager Alex Ferguson has a different perception. "His greatest strength is that despite the stature Aberdeen has achieved, he has always insisted the club remains friendly and unpre­tentious."

According to secretary lan Taggart the secret of his success is in his even-handedness. "Quite simply, he isn't in it for any personal glory or ego trip. He steadfastly maintains that no indivdual is bigger than the club."

Certainly, Dick, a director for more than forty years,

never willingly seeks publicity. A private, self-

effacing man he prefers to let his actions speak

louder than words. A former instructor in his

father's dancing school, he has kept Aberdeen on

their toes during his enlightened reign.

When he took control he insisted on a small board

of directors who could involve themselves daily in

the club's affairs and reach on-the-spot decisions.

He says: "I don't dictate to anyone. On the other

hand I won't let anyone dictate to me."

His ally and close friend in drawing up policies and

forward planning was Chris Anderson who died

tragically four years ago.

Dick recalls: "Chris had a scheme, I had a scheme

and we worked closely for years. When we knew we

were going to lose him that was hard to take. But

thanks to the work we put in together, I was never

scared that the club would not come through."

Eddie Turnbull, J immy Bonthrone, Ally MacLeod, Billy McNeill, Alex Ferguson, Ian Porterfield and Alex Smith have served as managers under his chairmanship.

During the early days of his chairmanship the board needed to monitor the finances of the club very closely and ensure that every pound was spent wisely. In present day football the same conditions apply but now the board are dealing in hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A quality player today cannot be purchased for less than quarter of a million pounds, freedom of contract has dictated a higher wage structure and stadia must constantly be improved to be able to compete with alternatives in the leisure industry.

He adds: "We will never undertake what we cannot afford. And we will never go into debt. If you have a plan you must stick with it and see it through no matter what anyone else thinks. Y o u musn't let anyone rush you. There are difficult decisions to be made and mistakes can happen through being too hasty. There were times when I should have waited another six months before acting.

"There are times when you tire of the daily routine. But when the ground is full and you are watching a great game the enjoyment always comes back. If you lose you've got to face it and try and improve things for the following week.

"You learn to be patient — and you never panic."

Strong opponents despite re ers

LEGIA Warsaw were founded in 1916 as an army team but their best remembered years came after the club re-opened in 1945. Since then they've been champions of Poland four times and won the Polish Cup a record nine times

Legia which means legion are officially called Central Army Sports Club Legia. They

Roman Kosecki

encompass 21 different sports in total. These include: cycling, boxing, basketball, volleyball, water polo, weight lifting, rifle shooting, fencing, tennis, wrestling and of course football.

The supporters of Legia in the years 1924-1988 have acquired 69 Olympic medals — 11 Gold, 19 Silver and 39 Bronze. The club has about 3,800 members participating in different sports.

In 1966 Legia became only the third football club in Poland to be decorated with the Golden Cross of Merit, awarded by the State.

Their home ground is the old fashioned Legia Stadium on the outskirts of the Polish capital, Warsaw. It holds 25,000.

The official colours of Legia are white, red, black and green, although their main strip is green and white.

Over the years they've boasted some very famous players indeed. Kazimierz Deyna was capped 102 times for Poland, the second most capped player in the history of Polish football.

He finished his career with Manchester City but never quite displayed his talent in England the same way he did in Poland. Tragically this most gifted of midfield players was killed in a car accident in America recently.

Another famous player was Jacek Gmoch who went on to become boss of the national side. When Poland sensationally eliminated England from the World Cup qualifying of 1974, it was Gmoch who masterminded the downfall of England as assistant coach. He was elevated to main man not long afterwards.

Legia's best performance in Europe came in 1969 when they reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. In 1970 they succceeded to the quarter final stage of the European Cup.

Today their team coach is Wladyslaw Stachurski. He, however, has suffered in much the same way as most other eastern European teams have now that the barriers have come down. Legia have lost their best players to foreign clubs in recent years.

Two former stars are currently playing in Scotland with Celtic. Captain of the Polish international team Dariusz Wdowczyk and

striker "Jacki" Dziekanowski. Legia also lost central defender Zbigniew Katzmarek to French club Auxerre. However, they do still have several internationalists in their ranks. In fact Aberdeen assistant manager Drew Jarvie made a special trip to Wembley last week to watch flying winger Roman Kosecki, who was gaining his 32nd cap against England.

Kosecki is known as the George Best of Polish football. Both because of his appearance — long black hair — and his style — he loves to dribble past opponents.

Kosecki is reckoned to be the next Polish player to be playing in the west. Several English league clubs are already showing interest following his performance at Wembley.

Utility defender Dariusz Kubicki was an unused substitute against England last week, but he already has 34 caps for Poland.

National boss Andrzey Strejlav is a former Legia coach. So it's fully expected he'll soon recall midfield star Leszek Pisz back into the Polish international squad. Pisz already has six caps.

Although 'keeper Maciej Szczesny is not an internationalist, he's reputed to be one of the best goalies in Poland.

So although Legia are not as strong as they'd like to be because of recent transfers, they will still be difficult opponents for Aberdeen to try to overcome.

At present they are lying eighth in a Polish first division of 16 teams and the leading goalscorers are Jacek Bak and Roman Kosecki.

The Poles eased out the relatively unknown outfit Swift Hesperange of Luxembourg 3-0 home and away in the first round, of the competition but Aberdeen players will not base too much evidence on that as some reports state the scoreline could have been much larger.

The Legia players and officio to pose for the camera shortly after a hard-fought victory in the Polish Cup final.

Aberdeen M I C HAUL WATT

STEWART McKIMMIE

• RTSON

BR1 W GRANT

ALEX McLEISH

BRIAN IRVINE

PETER VAN DE VEN

JIM BETT

PA I I. MASON

BOBBY CONNOR

HANS G I L L H A U S

LAN CAMERON

G R E G G WATSON

EOIN J E S S

CRAIG ROBERTSON

IAN ROBERTSON

Legia Warsaw MACIEJ S Z C Z Ę S N Y

DARIUSZ KUBICKI

ARKADIUSZ G M U R

MAREK JOZWIAK

KRZYSZTOF BUDKA

DARIUSZ CZYKIER

L E S Z E K PISZ

K R Z Y S Z T O F IWANICKI

J A C E K BAK

ROMAN K O S E C K I

J A C E K CYZIO

ZBIGNIEW ROBAKIEWICZ

ARTUR K U P I E C

MIROSŁAW MODZELEWSKI

ALBERT ŚWIETLIK

ANDRZEJ LATKA

OFFICIALS Officials appointed for t o n i g h t ' s g a m e are representatives from the Por tugese F.A.

Referee: J o s e Francisco C o n c e i c a o Si lva

Linesmen: J o s e Alber to Veiga Tr igo and Vitor M a n u e l M e l o Pereira

Printed by Cilcomston Litho (Aberdeen) Ltd. • Photography: Derek Ironside • Front cover courtesy of George Ashton.

Send f o r o u r ful l c o l o u r b r o c h u r e , a n d ask f o r a f r e e q u o t a t i o n .

/ ^ ^ C O N S E R V A T O R I E S ftfifa! T O SUIT EVERY

STYLE OF HOME.

Send f o r o u r ful l c o l o u r b r o c h u r e , a n d ask f o r a f r e e q u o t a t i o n .

A.C.YULE4B&

Send f o r o u r ful l c o l o u r b r o c h u r e , a n d ask f o r a f r e e q u o t a t i o n .

I ALL YOU'LL NEED IN GLASS C r a i g s h a w Road, W e s t T u l l o s Industrial E s t a t e Ł A b e r d e e n .

T e l : (0224) 890000